BMZ

Company profile

Bryansk Engineering Plant (BMZ) is the largest enterprise in the railway transport engineering market of Russia. BMZ develops and manufactures main-line and shunting diesel locomotives, freight rail cars of various types and modifications, marine diesels and other products.

Product Range

shunting diesel locomotives of different models, including TEM18, TEM18D, TEM21;

Historical background

Initially the enterprise was founded as a sawmill factory. The enterprise manufactured cross-sleepers for Riga-Orel railway that was built at the time.

The Imperial permission “On Establishment of Joint Stock Company of the Bryansk Rail, Iron and Engineering Enterprise for Production of Metal and Minerals, Cast Iron Smelting, Iron and Steel Production and Preparation of these Products For sale” was signed on June 20, 1873. P. Gubonin and V. Golubev were the founders of the Enterprise.

The enterprise grew rapidly. The village of Bezhitsa was formed around it. Later it gave life to the major industrial region. In pre-revolutionary period the enterprise manufactured rails, rail bridges, bulldozers, steam pumps, river steamboats, locomotives, cars, artillery shells and many other products. In 1892 the enterprise manufactured the first OD range steam locomotive with steel wheels. This locomotive was the best achievement of the transport equipment of the late 19th century not only in Russia but also worldwide. In 1896, the enterprise's products were exhibited at the All-Russian Industrial Exhibition in Nizhny Novgorod. Among the exhibits there were freight eight-wheel locomotive, Sh-class passenger coach, tanker car for 1500 pounds of kerosene, Bobcock and Wilcox boiler, a large collection of cast steel wheels and shaped casting. At the exhibition in 1905 in Omsk the enterprise received the highest award – a gold medal for cast iron pipes used for water supply, sewerage and other facilities. By 1910 the plant became the largest industrial enterprise with a well-organized production of locomotives and cars, general, agricultural and military equipment.

Since the start of the First World War, BMZ supplied the Army with high-explosive shells. On April 20, 1915 Tsar Nicholas II visited the enterprise. The enterprise’s exhibition was set up for him at the crane workshop.

After the October Revolution BMZ manufactured armored trains. All in all it gave 19 percent of the total production of locomotives in the country, 60 percent of the heavy cars. In 1930 the Bezhitsk Engineering Institute was opened on the basis of the enterprise specialists. Today it turned into a technical university, where specialists are trained for more than a dozen areas of mechanical engineering. By 1940 the enterprise manufactured 28 per cent of SO range locomotives, 100 per cent of heavy tank cars, 38 per cent of insulated cars, 29 percent of heavy cars and flatcars of the total production in the country.

During the Great Patriotic War the enterprise was evacuated. The most of the equipment and the staff – six thousand cars and 15,000 employees were sent to Krasnoyarsk. After the liberation of Bryansk the restoration of the destroyed plant had began and in 1945 it was transferred to the People's Commissariat of Transport Engineering.

In 1946, the first steam locomotive named "Pobeda" was manufactured and tested and a year later the plant resumed railway car production. Designers of the plant developed over 20 types of cars and tank cars. For the following 10 years the enterprise had been manufacturing steam turbines and at the same time organizing the production of new products for the country – mobile steam power stations (energy trains). In 1958 the enterprise was entrusted to organize the production of TEM1 shunting locomotives. Ten years later BMZ began producing TEM2 locomotives. The important event in the life of the staff was the decision on preparation and organization of the production of the country's first powerful low-speed marine diesel engines. The first engine was tested in September 1961. Since then almost a thousand engines were manufactured and sent to the shipyards. Starting from 1962 the enterprise produces mechanically refrigerated and electrically heated cars for long distance transportation of perishable goods. In 1965 the management structure of the enterprise was reorganized creating specialized types of production: diesel, transport equipment, metallurgical production. Up to the present moment the company works within the same area of business.